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WCSA Today: WCSA discusses the closing of an Indiana college and what it means for OWU students

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana is temporarily closing their doors next fall, and Ohio Wesleyan will help pick up the slack.

“Ohio Wesleyan has already offered [Saint Joseph’s College students] financial accommodations to match all non-athletic scholarships, plus $6,000 more a year to come here,” said freshman Greg Margevicius, a member of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA).

The Academic Affairs Committee is looking into the specifics of how the university will accommodate the new students, such as how their credits will transfer and if current transfer-credit policies will be adapted, Margevicius said.

“We are welcoming to any of the former Saint Joseph students … but also making sure the transition is fair to students who are here already,” Margevicius said.

Junior Robert Gossett also proposed an addendum to impose stricter regulations on the election for WCSA’s treasurer at the full senate meeting Feb. 27. Gossett suggested an evaluation process, conducted by the economics department, to determine the capability of a potential nominee.

The current treasurer, junior Kristen Nooney, is also the current president of the Campus Programming Board (CPB).

The Student Led Art Movement requested $1,350 and was funded $813. The Chinese Culture Club also requested $620 to cover the costs for a DVD, advertising and screening fee for the International Queer Film Festival. The club was funded $556.

Additionally, the council elected sophomore John Bonus as its CPB liaison at the meeting on Feb. 20. The position entails the liaison to attend CPB meetings and the

National Association for Campus Activities conference.

WCSA’s next full senate meeting will be held Monday, March 6, in the Crider Lounge in Ham-Will.

The Board of Trustees travel to Florida for an update on OWU’s campus status

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

The Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees held an offsite three-day retreat in Florida; it’s the first offsite meeting since 2014.

The meeting took place in Naples, Florida, from Feb. 9 through Feb. 11. with President Rock Jones, several trustees, the offices of the university, and eight faculty members in attendance.

The Board of Trustees meets four times a year. Back at the 2014 retreat, the Board of Trustees established the framework for OWU’s Connect Today, Create Tomorrow campaign. At the previous February retreat on campus, the board committed to OWU’s goal and plan for enrolling 2,020 students by fall of 2020.

The Florida retreat’s agenda was just as busy and equally as ambitious.

“The board meeting was an energizing time for all who participated as we explored the challenges faced by small colleges today and the many opportunities Ohio Wesleyan has to meet those challenges,” Jones said.

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature Sally Livingston is on the University Governance Committee and said the retreat was a very positive experience. The focus, she said, was to continue to make OWU the best the university can be.

“[The retreat] is more checking in to make sure we are on the right path in the right direction. In the end, we felt whatever little bumps might come up, we know that we are all committed to working on it together,” Livingston said.

It was reported to the rest of the faculty that of the eight new majors being introduced to students, Business Administration has generated the most interest from newly admitted students among any major. Also, many of the majors introduced this year have been among the most visited pages on the OWU website.

Additionally, Jones reported that OWU’s new regional recruiter in Chicago, Jay Shamlin, has helped double the number of OWU applicants from the Chicago area.

“The amount of international applications also are up substantially from last year, with an increase of more than 55 percent in completed applications from international students. Overall, applications are about even with this point last year,” Jones said in the email.

The fall-to-spring retention numbers fell this year, and the board continues to explore the reasons. The board is looking into retention issues related to academic, social and financial perspectives.

“This means looking carefully at the first-year experience including advising, student support services, and the residential experience; enhancing co-curricular opportunities including health, wellness, and recreational sports along with other existing initiatives, and creating a better understanding among new students of the level of work required for college success,” Jones said in the email.

At the meeting, the co-chairs of the Connect Today, Create Tomorrow campaign announced that the total raised to date exceeds $123 million.

According to an emailed report, the trustees were particularly enthusiastic about the impact of the campaign, which includes the $11 million for the OWU Connection, funding for three SLUplexes and a new Honors House, support of innovative new programs, Merrick Hall and the Simpson Querrey Fitness Center, more than $11 million in endowments supporting fac-
ulty positions, and more than $26 million for student scholarships and financial aid.

Two trustees, Carol Latham and Kara Trott, each announced seven-figure commitments to the campaign.

Jones said OWU will celebrate the 175th birthday anniversary as a part of Homecoming Weekend Oct. 19-22. Among the many festivities planned are a special Day on the JAY on Friday, welcoming the entire campus, Board of Trustees and other campus guests.

“This is an exciting time at Ohio Wesleyan as we approach our 175th anniversary and chart the course to help prepare new generations of students to become moral citizens in this truly global society… We have made progress, and we must continue to take urgent action and focus keenly on proper execution to best serve our students,” Jones said in the email.

Faculty Meeting: Faculty vote to approve changes to curriculum

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Faculty voted to allow Human Anatomy (ZOOL 329) for permanent addition to the zoology program and also approved changes to the curriculum for music majors at the faculty meeting Feb. 20.

Ohio Wesleyan’s music department requested “alterations to music courses, the addition of specified general education distributions and adding a foreign language requirement,” according to the meeting agenda.

The changes will give students a greater opportunity to take courses across the curriculum, said Provost Chuck Stinemetz.

“I don’t think it’s a net increase in the number of courses they have to take as much as creating space for them to potentially take courses outside of music,” Stinemetz said.

At the meeting, President Rock Jones said Kathy Boles Smith ‘71, a member of the Board of Trustees since 2011, and her husband Alton Smith have funded $500,000 for faculty support. The Smiths had also created a faculty support fund in 2014.

According to an email Jones sent to faculty Feb. 21, “The creation of Kathy and Alton Smith Endowed Fund for Scholarly Leave will allow the selected faculty member a semester away from classroom responsibilities to complete work on an established significant professional project.”

Jones also said some international students are concerned about going home for the summer, according to Tom Wolber, associate professor of modern foreign languages.

“[They are] worried about what will happen once they go home … What if they can’t come back? What if they are stopped at the border?” Wolber said. “We don’t know what [Donald] Trump and his administration will bring, but things could be much worse months from now.”

OWU doesn’t currently offer provisions for housing or food specially for international students during breaks. But Jones said he would look into housing concerned international students on campus over the summer, according to Wolber.

Additionally, six professors who started teaching at OWU in 2011 were granted tenure at the faculty meeting.

The professors included Sarah Bunnell, assistant professor of psychology; Sally Livingston, assistant professor of comparative literature; Scott Kelly, assistant professor of zoology; Glenda Nieto Cuebas, assistant professor of modern foreign languages; David Eastman, associate professor of religion; and Katherine Glenn-Applegate, assistant professor of education.

During the Board of Trustees’ retreat in Florida, the board and the eight faculty members who attended discussed OWU’s 2,020 by 2020 plan in more detail. Wolber said the board is enthusiastic, but some members of the faculty are unsure about achieving the 2,020 goal in the next three years.

Wolber said the admissions report, given by Susan Dileno, vice president for enrollment, was similar to last year’s, but OWU has seen a growth in the number of international student applicants.

Come October, OWU will also celebrate its 175th anniversary. The state of Ohio originally awarded OWU its charter on March 7, but festivities won’t take place until October during homecoming weekend.

The next faculty meeting will be held March 27.

*This story was updated on March 7, 2017 at 2:06 p.m.

CPB announces headliner

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

The Campus Programming Board (CPB) is bringing The Mowgli’s as the headliner to Ohio Wesleyan for Bishop Bash this year.

Planning since last year, junior Kristen Nooney, CPB president, said it was a long process of finalizing the event.

“[The] first step for us is to brainstorm a list of all of the different people we would like to see on campus,” Nooney said. “At [that] stage, we don’t take the price or availability of the artist into consideration.”

Nooney said the next step was to talk to Nancy Rutkowski, CPB’s adviser, who contacted Concert Ideas, the middle agent CPB uses to find talent for Bishop Bash.

After narrowing down a list of artists, Nooney said CPB ranks the potential artists.

“[The ranking is] based upon who we want to bring and who would be the best fit for the campus,” Nooney said. “This list then goes back to Nancy who works with our middle agent to get contracts.”

CPB then goes through the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) to get funding for the event.

“We reached out to WCSA at the beginning of the school year because we wanted to keep them in the loop with our Bishop Bash plans,” Nooney said.

“This year we were hoping to bring Twenty One Pilots to campus or host a weekend music festival. However, with limited funds we weren’t able to make this happen so we adapted and created a new list of artists within the budget we received from WCSA.”

In addition to Twenty One Pilots, Nooney said CPB eliminated more than 26 different groups due to compatibility on campus, price and the groups’ availability.

Once deciding on The Mowgli’s, Nooney said their price was good enough for CPB to find a popular opener, too.

“We decided on Never Shout Never because the two bands have a similar message and complement each other’s sound,” Nooney said. “They were also well known while most of us were in middle school and high school, making their appearance exciting and nostalgic.”

Nooney said the estimated cost for Bishop Bash this year will be around $45,000 after the production, the bands, hospitality, security and housekeeping.

Junior Catie Kocian, a member of CPB, said she is extremely excited about seeing both bands perform at OWU.

“I have been a fan of Never Shout Never since middle school and our headliner is a new favorite of mine for sure,” Kocian said.

The Transcript reached out to The Mowgli’s and Never Shout Never, but have not spoken with either band yet.

Public safety sends alert to students to shelter in place

By Transcript Staff

Delaware Police Department (DPD) is searching for two possible suspects for a “reported crime involving a gun” in downtown Delaware.

Ohio Wesleyan’s Public Safety (PS) sent an alert at 11:47 a.m., Feb. 17, notifying the campus community to shelter in place while police search for the suspects.

“Police have two suspect descriptions: a bald white male with a red shoulder bag and white tennis shoes and a person wearing all black,” the alert from PS said.

The shelter was lifted at 11:55 a.m., when PS sent another alert saying, “Delaware Police say OWU is able to resume normal operations. You no longer need to shelter in place.”

To receive PS alerts, students can subscribe by visiting this link: https://www.owu.edu/student-life/campus-safety/owu-alert-system/.

Seniors Munir Qaddourah and Doug Sanders witnessed Delaware Police during the search and posted photos and videos to their Snapchat stories.

The Transcript has attempted to contact PS but has not been able to reach them yet.

In a press release, DPD stated they are investigating a bank robbery in connection to the shelter placed on campus.

“[The robbery] occurred around 11:18 a.m. today at the Chase Bank branch, (61 N. Sandusky Street, Delaware),” the press release stated. “A lone male robber entered the bank, threatened a patron with a knife, and demanded money. He left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of US currency.”

The suspect is Jose Angel Santiago Cintron, a 42 year old man from Delaware. According to the press release and later confirmed by DPD Captain Adam Moore via voicemail, the suspect is in custody.

Photo of Suspect Jose Angel Santiago Cintron

“He is being held on one count of robbery and one count of kidnapping related to today’s incident”, said Moore.

“[The suspect] was taken into custody without incident, several blocks from the bank, approximately 10 minutes after the initial call,” the release said.

Cole Hatcher, director of media and community relations, also sent an email to the campus community at 2:01 p.m., saying the man was arrested in the vicinity of the campus and no one was injured.

In his email, Hatcher outlined a set of protocols to follow in case of emergencies:

“Follow a run, hide, fight protocol – in that order.

Get to a safe place as quickly as possible and secure yourself there. Lock and/or barricade doors as much possible for your immediate area. (If you are in a classroom, or similar, do not leave a safe space to reach personal offices, residence hall rooms, etc.)

Assess your surroundings to identify potential secondary escape routes and possible ways to subdue/disarm an assailant in a life-threatening situation. (Could you break a window if needed? Do you have pepper spray with you? Do you have access to heavy objects that may be thrown or otherwise used to subdue/disarm an assailant?)

Stay sheltered until you receive an all-clear message. This message likely will be sent via the OWU ALERT emergency notification system.”

*This story will be updated as more information becomes available and was last updated at 5:07 p.m., February 17, 2017.

Third OWU SLUplex construction underway

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Come fall semester, a new Small Living Unit (SLU) will emerge on the block.

The third SLUplex is going to be located at 110 Rowland Ave. between 94 and 118 Rowland, according to an email from Wendy Piper, assistant dean of student af- fairs and director of residential life at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Members of House of Spiritual Athletes and Tree House will reside in the new SLU-plex when it opens in fall 2017, said Dwayne Todd, vice president for student engagement and success.

“The SLUs are an important part of our campus, and with the continued decline of the condition of many previous SLU homes, it was time to relocate them to new facilities,” Todd said. “We plan to build four SLU buildings, each one housing two SLU communities, and are constructing them as funding becomes available.”

Todd said the funding for the third SLU-plex came from “a generous donor who will be named publicly soon.”

In Piper’s email to members residing in Inter-Faith House, Sexuality and Gender Equality House, Peace and Justice House and House of Linguistic Diversity, she said the new SLUplex will be similar in size and features to the current SLUplexes, but will have a slightly modified designed and a different color palette.

All the SLUs share similar features and will house 12 students, but each will have design aspects that are distinctive from the other SLUs, Todd said.

“Just as our SLU communities are all unique, we wanted to be sure to preserve some unique features to each SLU building that houses them,” he said.

The timing of the fourth SLU’s construction is yet to be determined.

Students compete in national Moot Court tournament

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

Senior Caroline Hamilton and junior Madeleine Juszynski participated in the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s 2016-17 national tournament, held in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Hamilton described Moot Court as a Supreme Court simulation.

“Every year, the Moot Court Association writes a new case to be argued in front of a panel of judges, usually local attorneys,” Hamilton said. “This activity is closed, which means we can only use the cases re- leased or referenced in the case we are to argue.”

Hamilton said they spent the semester using cases they were provided with to make their arguments.

“Because we argue both sides, we have to be ready for both sides,” Hamilton said. “Usually, oral arguments last

around 10 minutes [with 20 per team] and the judges are allowed to interject and ask us questions at any time.”

Hamilton added that each team participates in a regional tournament to try and qualify for nationals.

“Essentially you only have one chance to get to nationals,” Hamilton said.

Partners since fall 2016, Hamilton and Juszynski’s topic at the national tournament was voter fraud.

Juszynski said she argued the 14th Amendment and Hamilton argued the standing and First Amendment issues

They both argued for the government and the federal appeals court, which is required of Moot Court participants, Juszynski added.

Juszynski said the tournament in Florida was rewarding and Hamilton said they spent 12 hours competing at Stetson Law School.

“It was a great opportunity to meet students doing Moot Court from all over the country and argue against the best [in] the country,” Juszynski said.

Though the duo did not advance to the second day, Juszynski attributed the loss to the strength of the competition.

Hamilton added that her partner- ship with Juszynski made her experience in Florida wonderful.

“She is so incredibly smart, hard- working, and dedicated to Moot Court,” Hamilton said. “I think we worked well as partners, as we have similar argumentation styles. I consider her a close friend, so it was fun to be able to travel to Florida and experience nationals together.”

Since Hamilton is set to graduate in May, her time with Moot Court has ended, but Juszynski plans on continuing next year as a senior.

Enrollment update: OWU gets closer to achieving 2,020 by 2020

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

Members of the administration are enjoying considerable progress related to the 2,020 by 2020 enrollment plan.

President Rock Jones said there have been eight new majors added since the plan was initiated. One of the new majors, business administration, has drawn attention to Ohio Wesleyan.

“Nearly 10 percent of the students who have applied for admission list business administration as their top interest,” Jones said.

Jones added that business administration, social justice, computer science and communications have been popular additions to the OWU website and course catalogue.

“[The new majors] were the four most frequently visited majors in our website in the months of October, November and December,” Jones said.

In addition to the new majors, Jones said OWU is adding two new varsity sports in 2018: women’s crew and men’s wrestling.

Jones added that major changes are being made to the programs that are part of the first year experience.

“A new orientation program and a new first-year residential program … are underway to impact student success and retention,” Jones said.

The addition of a Chicago regional recruiter has already had positive results. Jones said that applications to OWU from students living in that area have doubled within the past year.

“Completed applications from international students have doubled over last year,” Jones said. “[And] we enrolled a total of 33 transfer students in fall and spring, compared to 31 the previous year and 26 two years ago.”

Jones said a third SLUplex and a new Honors House are also in the works, as well as an endowment by the Board of Trustees supporting the 2,020 by 2020 efforts.

Susan Dileno, vice president for enrollment, said her department has been hard at work.

“We have been doing quite a bit to increase our domestic student applications,” Dileno said. “Some of which include admitted student receptions, faculty calling, student over nights and programs, alumni contacting students on the OWU Facebook site, alumni and parent letters and [creating an] admitted student microsite.”

In an administrative report sent to faculty in January, Dileno provided an update on OWU’s fall 2017 applications.

Dileno said Ohio’s application numbers have increased by six percent, and reiterated Jones’ statement regarding Chicago with Illinois’ numbers being up by 26 percent.

Dileno said OWU’s target markets, Columbus and Cleveland, have changed as well with Columbus’ applications being up by 29 percent and Cleveland down by 7 percent.

Dileno also said the number of international applicants has increased, with applications submitted by prospective Pakistani students up by 78 percent.

Dileno also touched on the average ACT score remaining at 26, the average GPA declining to 3.5 from last year’s 3.6 average and SAT changes.

According to Dileno, there have been 274 applicants for the new business administration major, 26 for communications and 13 for data analytics, with one Middle East studies, three neuroscience, 10 nutrition and eight social justice.

Dileno ended her update with what the low numbers for some of the new departments mean and what steps are next.

“It may take a little more time for our new majors to gain awareness,” Dileno said. “We are doing all we can now to promote them on our website and to prospective students via email and postcards, and by pursuing names of students interested in these programs.”

Two students create their own OWUber service for weekends

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

Uber is in Columbus and 524 other cities worldwide, but Delaware, Ohio is not on the list.

Ohio Wesleyan juniors Conner Brown and Scott Harmanis have begun offering rides to OWU students via OWUber for 3 dollars per person, which can be paid via cash or the app Venmo.

Brown and Harmanis came up with the idea of OWUber not just to make money, but also out of concern for the safety and overall good of fellow classmates walking back and forth from the bars.

Brown said he has given just as many or even more free rides than he has for money simply because he wants to.

OWUber eventually wants to donate the money earned from rides to a charity in the Delaware area or organizations such as Young Life.

Brown and Harmanis are offering rides on Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. They each drive their individual cars that offer four or five seats per car.

“We prefer to stick with just OWU students so we know who we are putting in the car and there’s less liability that way,” Brown said.

OWUber had its opening weekend the first weekend of February. Brown and Harmanis said it was successful for their first time being out on the town and gave rides to at least two to three people per ride.

The availability of rides will be weather dependent – on cold, winter nights, it’s more likely rides will be offered versus warm, spring nights.

Follow OWUber on Instagram or on Snapchat at OWUber for the latest updates on when rides are available.

Ohio Wesleyan’s orientation programs undergo a makeover

By Evan Walsh, Chief Copy Editor

A series of administrative changes have been made to the orientation programs for this coming summer and fall for new students.

Brad Pulcini, assistant dean for student engagement, is organizing these programs.

He said the goal is to register students for classes while introducing them to the university on a more personal level.

Three sessions will be held. Group sessions ordinarily held in the fall will be moved to the summer. StART will now just be called Orientation Camp OWU, formerly known as FreshX, will now include Ohio Wesleyan faculty in addition to the 100 or so students Pulcini hopes will attend. Students will have more activities to choose from (i.e. ropes courses and rock climbing) that have not been offered in the past.

The school is trying to make the same effort for parents as they prepare for their child’s next four years.

“Our program for parents is going to be more involved than it has been in the past with a focus on college finances,” Pulcini said.

New to the itinerary is the first ever “Oh-Woo Welcome” which will follow Orientation. The renaming to “Oh-Woo Welcome” is accompanied by changes of its own.

As opposed to previous years’ events, this year’s will begin that Sunday, not Saturday. On Sunday, first-years and new students will have convocation followed by move-in.

The Student Involvement Office is co-ordinating with OWU’s Residential Life.

The groups will be assigned based on which dormitory first-year students will live in.

“The idea is to get new students adjusted to where they’re living and who they’re living with,” Pulcini said.

Another change to the focus of these group activities is to get students acclimated to the nuances of OWU’s academic life. According to Pulcini, the results of an incoming student’s focus group indicated that these students were not yet comfortable with online resources like Blackboard and Self-Service.

Current and returning students are encouraged to get involved, too. OWU’s Campus Programming Board has agreed to help organize several different events which will be available to the rest of the OWU community when they return later that week.

Pulcini said the orientation teams leading the students will be smaller. Applications for “Camp Leader” positions were due last week and will soon be reviewed by Student Involvement staff.

Junior Alexander Pacilio has been an orientation leader in the past. He said he believes that most of the changes will improve the process.

However, he also said that along with other orientation leaders, he was disappointed to learn that there are only going to be two orientation team leaders, instead of the usual four.